Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I Have a Dream – Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with Broward County Libraries

On Monday, January 21, the nation commemorates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the historic civil rights leader who electrified the world with his famous “I Have a Dream” speech and his vision of racial harmony and equality for everyone. A federal holiday marking King’s birthday, scheduled on the third Monday in January, was first celebrated in 1986. In 1994, Congress designated it as a national day of service: “a day on, not a day off.” This “MLK Day of Service,” encourages Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems.

What can you do? Everyone can get involved on MLK Service Day. As Dr. King said, you don’t need a college degree or fancy qualifications, just a desire to help. If you’re interested in libraries, literacy and promoting the love of books and reading, Broward County Library has wonderful volunteer opportunities for everyone from students to seniors. Teach someone to read, volunteer as a docent, tutor a childor join the Friends of the Library.There are dozens of ways to give back to your community including volunteering with Broward County Library.

NOTE:All Broward County Library locations will be closed on Monday, January 21, 2013 in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Access Biography in Context, a free online research site, with your Broward County Library card number and watch videos and view images about Dr. Martin King, Jr. and other leaders of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Explore the Special Collections of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, such as the Margaret and Cato Roach Collection,which consists of personal papers, awards, pamphlets and news clippings documenting the Roaches, Fort Lauderdale mentors in the field of education and civil rights during the 1960s and 1970s, or theKitty Oliver Oral Histories, which contains more than 100 interviews of individuals discussing race and ethnic relations in Broward and Palm Beach counties during the 1960s and 1970s.